Arthur Conan Doyle

Biography

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh to Charles Altamont Doyle, an artist, and Mary Foley, an Irish immigrant. Although in the middle class, the family still struggled substantially. Discouraged by his inability to provide for his family, Arthur’s father often turned to alcohol to deal with his problems and even separated from the family for a time. Arthur was “frustrated” by his father’s attitude and alcoholism, but it “strengthened his own resolve not to follow in the same footsteps” (Booth 10). Arthur attended several schools, including Edinburgh Medical School in 1876. His medical career brought many experiences that would later influence his writing. He published his first short story, “The Mystery of Sasassa Valley,” as a mock South African tale in 1879, and continued to write as he practiced medicine. He married twice and had five children, eventually dying in 1930.

Doyle was a prolific writer. Gaby Godlscheider, a bibliographer, once comprised a list of “as many works of The Master as I could track down…. they total some 500” (3). Doyle was particularly influenced by Sir Walter Scott and “believed his works stood in a great tradition but also that they were accessible rather than elitist. He read, as he wrote, for everybody” (Edwards). Many of his works were published in The Strand. Sherlock Holmes’ first appearance to the magazine in July 1891 caused the sales of the new magazine to “nearly double” (Edwards). Doyle continued to contribute to The Strand until 1927. In 1913, his novella The Poison Belt was published as a follow up to another novel, The Lost World. The main character of The Poison Belt is a journalist, much like Doyle. He experiences the constraints, liberations, and advancements which characterize the modern world, even noting, “I should have known by this time that a journalist has no right to make plans of his own” (Doyle 236). Throughout the story, Doyle experiments with the role of a journalist, the role of science, as well as themes regarding death, spirituality, and modernity.